The Padres are willing to deal Greene, who certainly would give the Royals a shortstop that would enable them to switch Mike Aviles to second base. The questions, of course, are (a) Can the Royals fit Greene's $6.5 million contract into their budget? and (b) What would they have to give up to get him?

Even if general manager Dayton Moore can figure out a way to squeeze the salary onto the payroll, the Royals could lose Greene to free agency after just one season. The Padres are looking for an outfield bat, which might suggest Mark Teahen, and a veteran catcher, which might suggest John Buck, plus pitching, which might suggest a lot of names. A lot might depend on what the Padres get in any deal for Jake Peavy.

With Mike Jacobs taking over at first base, the Royals likely want a second baseman with more range than Alberto Callaspo can provide. Aviles, who showed more than anticipated last year at short, could fill that need at second. Padres general manager Kevin Towers bills Greene as a Gold Glove-quality shortstop (though he hasn't won one yet). At bat, Greene had his worst season (.213, 10 homers, 35 RBIs) and broke his left hand on July 30 punching a storage chest in frustration after striking out. By contrast, in 2007, he had 27 homers and 97 RBIs with a .254 average. Trading for Greene does make a lot of sense, doesn't it, for us armchair GMs?

Do you think the Royals might try to get CC Sabathia?
-- Michael M., Overland Park, Kan.

Moore has made it pretty clear that the Royals will not be competing for any of the high-ticket players on the free-agent market. So you can scratch Sabathia, Derek Lowe, Manny Ramirez, Mark Teixeira, Raul Ibanez, Pat Burrell, Adam Dunn, Rafael Furcal, Orlando Hudson and all those others of that ilk. It's not going to happen.

The Royals apparently will stick to around $60 million or so in payroll, and they've already committed $40.4 million to nine players. They'll be looking at lower-tier free agents and actively pursuing trades in an effort to make the upgrades they want.

With all the first basemen with the Royals, it looks like somebody will be traded. Ross Gload would be my first guess, but if no one shows interest, would they trade Billy Butler?
-- Monte S., Rayong, Thailand

For the record, Moore says he'll trade anybody in what he believes is the right deal to help the Royals. But it'd take quite a deal to get pitchers Gil Meche, Zack Greinke or Joakim Soria. Sure, Moore would trade Butler, but would be reluctant to do so. The Royals believe his one-month demotion to Omaha last season got his mind straight, and they feel his power is going to keep increasing as he matures. He'd be a natural switch-off with Jacobs between first base and DH.

Why isn't Frank White in the National Baseball Hall of Fame?
-- Phillip C., Kansas City

White was first eligible for election to the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers' Association of America in 1996. He received 18 votes, just 3.8 percent of those cast, and because he did not get the necessary five percent, he was dropped from future ballots. His chances are not over, however. According to the Hall of Fame, White will be eligible for consideration by the Veterans Committee in fall 2012.

Have a question about the Royals? E-mail your query to MLB.com Royals beat reporter Dick Kaegel for possible inclusion in a future Inbox column. Letters may be edited for brevity, length and/or content. First Name, Last Initial: Hometown: Email Address: Question:

Why has there been no correlation between the 18-8 record in September and Miguel Olivo playing the majority of those games?
-- Gary B., Gravois Mills, Mo.

Shortly after you submitted this question, the Royals did draw some correlation by bringing back Olivo and ceding the starting job to him for next season. So the final month obviously did play a role. Actually, in the Royals' hot September finish, each catcher started the same number of games, 13. The team's record in games that Olivo started was 10-3; with Buck catching, it was 8-5. During that month, the pitchers had a 3.15 ERA while Olivo was catching, 3.99 while Buck was catching. Manager Trey Hillman noted an improvement in Olivo's game management and in Buck's throwing, areas that needed to get better in his view.

With the Royals lacking a left-handed starter, is there any way they would go after Oliver Perez? If not, who could the Royals possibly seek as a left-handed starter?
-- Kellen N., Maryville, Mo.

Count Perez, coming from the Mets, as one of those out of the Royals' range. He made $6.5 million last year, and agent Scott Boras, who has an eight-chapter sales book out on Perez, is looking for w-a-y more than that. Affordable left-handers are hard to find and, while this might seem strange to bring up, our old friend Odalis Perez is on the market again. He's still just 31, went 7-12 and made 30 starts last season for the Nationals and worked for just $850,000. Bring back Odalis? Well, if the Royals are going to have an O. Perez, he'd be the one.